[Patient safety in nursing homes. The experience of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia]

Atención Primaria y personas mayores en las residencias: propuestas de mejora tras la experiencia durante la pandemia

Con este artículo hemos querido acercarnos a la visión que desde la Atención Primaria (AP) tenemos sobre lo que ha supuesto la pandemia de la COVID-19 en la población mayor y particularmente en las personas ancianas que viven en residencias. La situación previa de los centros residenciales ha influido durante la pandemia en un elevado número de fallecimientos, aislamiento social y problemas de salud derivados. Las personas de estos centros son generalmente más vulnerables, frágiles, dependientes y longevas, pero estos condicionantes no justifican el nivel de contagios y mortalidad por sí mismos. En los momentos de mayor dureza de la crisis sanitaria, se activaron una serie de respuestas sociales y sanitarias variadas y diversas en cada comunidad autónoma. Algunas de estas tuvieron carácter urgente y terminaron por originar diferentes estrategias y/o nuevos modelos de atención y gestión de las residencias. En algunos casos, estos cambios se siguen manteniendo. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar algunas de las principales medidas que se llevaron a cabo, los cambios que se implementaron, los puntos en común, el consenso en la toma de decisiones, la evidencia sobre la que se basaron, los aspectos éticos y legales que inspiraron estas estrategias y los resultados en salud obtenidos. Atendiendo a lo comentado, el grupo hace una serie de propuestas de mejora de cara al futuro.

Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review

Nursing homes are one of the hardest-hit environments in terms of mortality from COVID-19. Given the reactive management of the pandemic, it is necessary to reflect on, and answer, the question as to which good practices (interventions) were implemented in care homes (population) to improve management and care quality (outcomes). This systematic review aimed to identify and describe good practices adopted in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic or other recent epidemics. We conducted searches in Embase, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest Central, and Scopus over the period 1-30 November, 2021, using the descriptors "nursing homes", "long-term care", "long-term care facilities" and "COVID-19"; and the keywords "learnings", "lessons", "positive learnings", "positive lessons", "SARS", "MERS", "COVID-19" and "pandemic". We identified 15 papers describing 14 best practices and 26 specific actions taken for COVID-19 management in long-term care facilities. Following the IDEF methodology, the practices were classified into strategic processes (staff training, communication with the national health system, person-centered care, and protocols), operational processes (cohorts, diagnostic testing, case monitoring, personal protective equipment, staff reinforcement, restriction of visits, social distancing, and alternative means for communication with families) and support processes (provision of equipment and hygiene reinforcement). Fifty percent of practices were likely to be maintained beyond the outbreak to improve the operation and quality of the long-term care facilities. This review summarizes the most common measures adopted to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of increased vulnerability and highlights the deficiencies that must be addressed.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Nursing Homes: Study Design and Population Description

Nursing homes for the elderly in Spain have experienced high rates of infection and mortality from COVID-19, although rates have varied from one region to another. Madrid is the region where most institutionalized older adults have died from the coronavirus. However, there is little known about the psychosocial and environmental factors involved in the high incidence of COVID-19 among the institutionalised population in this region. This article describes the protocol of a study on nursing homes during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the Autonomous Community of Madrid (hereafter: Region of Madrid or Madrid Region) and provides information on the study design, measures used, and characteristics of the population studied. A questionnaire about life in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic was designed and a total of 447 persons over 60 years of age without cognitive impairment-220 in private nursing homes and 227 in public nursing homes-participated by answering questions about different topics: personal situations during the pandemic, feelings and methods of coping, residential environment, health, quality of life, ageism, and self-perception of ageing. The institutionalised person profile discussed in this study was an old woman, widowed, without children, with a low level of education, with multimorbidity, and who perceived her health and quality of life positively. Most of the participants were very concerned about COVID-19 and its effects. In fact, 38% had been diagnosed with COVID-19, of whom 20% were admitted to hospital and 20% had suffered negative impacts, such as pain and neurological problems. In addition, 70% of the residents remained confined to their rooms, which increased their perceptions of loneliness and social isolation. The worst-rated aspects of the nursing home resulted from the restrictive measures imposed on nursing homes during the pandemic. This research offers useful material for understanding the pandemic and its consequences from the perspective of the older institutionalised population, which could provide insights for designing public policies.